With recent streamlining and increased flexibility of architectural licensing programs, the time it takes to earn a license has decreased for the seventh year in a row, and the average age of licensure has concurrently dropped. On average, it takes just over 13 years to become an architect, from the time a student enrolls in school to the date they receive a license.

Courtesy of The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)

From 2014 to 2015, there was a two percent increase in the number of architects in the United States, which reached 110,168. The number of professionals working towards licensure also increased and reached 41,500 in 2015—an all-time high.

Nearly 4,900 of these licensure candidates completed the experience requirement in 2015, a 27 percent increase from 2014. Furthermore, 62 percent of candidates overlapped their experience and exams, the largest percentage to date.